Hadrian Peverell, Heir of Grindelwald
by ThatGrayAreaInCompanyPolicy
Summary: Grindelwald lives in Nurmengard. It is a gilded prison for him, but when he sees Dumbledore putting a foolish plan into action, he decides to intervene- taking Harry Potter from the Dursleys, to raise as his heir. See how Hadrian's journey through the magical world goes! No pairing until 3rd year at least. Raven!Harry, Smart/strong!Harry, Dark!Harry. I'll try to avoid bashing too.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, sorry for the long time between updates. I had some personal stuff come up, and I wasn't in any state to write for the longest time. I've deleted the old version of this story, and I'm sure that you'll like this one a lot more. I expect that I'll be able to do a bit more writing now, so update should be out within the month.**

Chapter 1: The Return of Grindelwald.

36 years, 6 months, and 13 days after the Battle of the Seelow Heights, a man looked out his open window, the fresh autumn air invigorating him as it sent a chill through his old bones. His gnarled hand stroked the head of the common barn owl that had just delivered The Daily Prophet. With his other hand, he ate some of his bacon, then fed it to the bird. "Go on now," he whispered.

A wandless cleansing charm later, he resumed eating. He sipped from a tall glass of 2% and twirled his wrist, the paper standing itself up for him to read. The old man smiled softly; it was little acts of sorcery that he had always enjoyed, almost more than anything else. Perhaps it reminded him of times before the Great War. Simpler. More carefree. He shook off the nostalgic thoughts in favor of looking to the Prophet's headline.

On most days, he didn't even bother. But last night, he had felt a huge shift in the magic of homeland of his oldest friend and one-time lover. Nearly a century ago, he had been hailed as the greatest magic sensor to have ever lived, and his skill had not dulled in the slightest.

There it was, accompanied by a wizarding photo of a you family of three, two parents and a young boy with a scar marring his forehead: **_MIHILE POTTER BOY-WHO-LIVED! DARK LORD DEFEATED_**. He sighed, disappointed in the judgement of Albus Dumbledore.

Getting up from the breakfast table, he waved his hand to shut the window. After taking a moment to relish in the return of warmth to the room, he contemplated how badly his old friend had screwed the pooch with his latest scheme. It was a fine plan, but it did not account for the fact that he would not stand for a magical child being place with a muggle family.

The old man decided that he had to help the child. And instead of handing him back to Albus, he would mold him in his own image.

It was time to leave the gilded prison he'd accepted 36 years, 6 months, and 13 days ago.

******************************Flashback to May 1945*********************************

. A series of lightning strikes rained down from the heavens upon Gellert Grindelwald, who had animated the very earth into an elemental construct to take the hits. It caught fire, then rushed toward it's master's foe.

Dumbledore responded in kind, waving his wand in a complex pattern. As the earth elemental drew closer, spinning circles carrying arcane might aligned, then with a jab of his want fired a beam of pure light energy. The elemental was engulfed and disintegrated.

The two men nodded at each other, a sign of mutual respect. Dumbledore cast a barrier, then crouched and began drawing a transmutation circle. Gellet didn't recognize it, but knew that transmutations actually requiring circles were powerful. So he began casting one of the darkest spell he knew.

Two minutes later, all of the guns and helmets of the fallen crashed together above Dumbledore's circle to form a trio animated mechanical constructs.

They were met by titans formed from the remains of the fallen, dripping with rotten, corrosive necro-magic.

They tore each other apart as the men started casting elemental transfigurations in an attempt to gain the upper hand in this epic confrontation. The battle had already dragged on for over seven hours.

Gellert had poured a great deal of his magic into a tornado, a lightning serpent, and a corrosive miasma, finally having the upper hand. Albus responded by casting a spell severing the magical bonds holding constructs together. Then he cast another that would prevent any magical bonds from holding together for until it dissipated.

Grindelwald could sense that it would be nearly two hours before magical constructs could be sustained in a three-mile radius of the casting point. Albus was also clearly ahead in terms of magic left in reserve at this point too. That bond severing ward was tactically imperfect, as it forced the engagement into traditional dueling. Gellert had come out on top of every like engagement in the past.

The one thing he had not expected was that Albus had learned to apparate mid-combat. It was a dangerous tactic that carried a much higher splinch rate than non-combat apparation, but Albus had it mastered.

It is truly a testament to Gellert's battle prowess that it took nearly another whole hour to be defeated, even as he was disadvantaged in both mobility and available magical reserves.

In the end, Gellert was hit by a sensory deprivation curse, followed by a stunner. Instead of finishing Grindelwald's life, Dumbledore approached his downed rival and former lover. He cast _incarcerous_ , then removed the curse and _renervated_ Gellert, but not before taking his wand.

Dumbledore monologued about 'the good old days', an attempt to make Gellert feel remorse. Gellert, meanwhile, was busy casting wandless and silent compulsions in an attempt to save his life.

He knew that he had succeeded when Albus proclaimed, "I will tell the world that you died here today. But you will merely be hidden away in the prison of your own making. For the sake of our love and friendship, I will make your stay there comfortable, but you shall never escape. I will even visit, from time to time."

***********************End Flashback*************************

If there is one thing to be said about Albus Dumbledore, it is that he is a man of his word. Nurmengard had been more of a cushy palace to the war criminal. The only reminder that is was indeed a prison was the lack of human contact.

In fact, the only human contact he had in almost 37 years were the visits from Albus.

He visited on each of their birthdays. For Gellert's Birthday, Albus always gave him a few books on advanced light magic. For Albus's birthday, Gellert always had a pair of woolen socks, fantastically patterned.

He visited for Yule, and the two would always share a couple of dances to the charmed phonograph that played music from their youth. Gellert would lead first, then Albus. Then they would share a drink while they reminisced about how they were in the summer of 1899. In more recent years, Gellert had lamented the foolishness of his European conquest.

On the day of Arianna Dumbledore's death, the normally colorful Albus came to Gellert wearing all black. He brought with him 2 copies of Arianna's favorite book, and the two read it together in silence. It was their own way of mourning the tragedy.

Gellert had originally planned to use such visits to strengthen the compulsions that he had placed on his friend, but found it unnecessary. The visits were just about the highlights of Albus's year too, the only time he could act as his true self.

In time, Albus came for more than just those four days. Whenever he had a particularly tricky problem in the International Confederation of Wizards, he would seek Gellert's council. The same was true for problems with the Wizengamot. During the time of Voldemort's reign of terror, he received visits nearly bi-weekly. It was in that time that he had heard the prophecy, and the plan to dispose of Voldemort.

And it was also why he knew that Mihile Potter had a twin brother. And if the twin wasn't shown in the family photo in the Prophet, then Albus was following through with the only despicable part of the plan- separating the twins in order to focus training on the one who was marked as the equal to Voldemort.

With another lazy wave of his hand, his library of over a thousand tomes was shrunken and put into the mokeskin pouch that he had convinced Albus to bring him nearly fifteen years prior. And he left. Just walked out the front door.

He immediately disillusioned himself, then chain-apparated across the continent to his Great-Aunt's cottage, the place where he had left his original wand, a gorgeous 13 inches of Camphor with a joint core of dragon whisker and nekodama whisker, bound with his own blood, of course.

He knocked on the door, and waited as he heard his last remaining family shuffle toward the door. When she cracked it open to see who was there, he cast a couple of compulsions so that he could get in and out with minimal fuss.

And on his was out the door, he _obliviated_ her of his visit.

/

His next task would be to actually locate the boy he wished to save from being abandoned. The trick would be to locate the Potters, and then find a magical signature similar to their signatures. Or, he could base his search off of another Potter he had encountered. Thankfully, he had once encountered Charlus Potter, James's father, on a battlefield so many years ago. So, seeking signatures similar to Charlus's, he entered a meditative state.

After a couple of minutes, brilliant blue eyes snapped open, angrier than they had been in almost four decades. A soft crack signaled his departure from Godric's Hollow.

And this old man appeared on Privet Drive, perhaps the most normal street of all time. Everything about him was out of place here, from his great long beard to his midnight blue robes to his magical-ness. Even his name would be cause for complaint in this kind of place full of anti-foreigner sentiment. Nevertheless, at 12:17pm, the middle of the day, he approaches #4, and knocks.

Petunia Dursley was not having a good day. She'd been woken by a baby's cries at 5:30 in the morning, and it wasn't her precious Dudley. It was her sister's spawn, on her doorstep. Some old fool had left him there with nothing but a note, explaining how her sister, and the rest of her sister's family had passed away in a magical terrorist attack, and now she was to care for the child.

She had no desire to do so, but the note had said that Dumbledore would be watching to make sure he was treated right, so she changed his nappies, and gave him some cheerios for breakfast. The worst part was explaining it all to her husband, and they had gotten into a huge row over the validity of the claim of magical surveillance.

Between the time Vernon left for work and the time she would start preparing lunch, she aggressively pulled weeds and angrily scrubbed down the countertop. At lunchtime, having already bottle-fed the two kids, she ate a sandwich while they played in the sitting room.

And then there was a knock on the door. Strange, she wasn't expecting anyone, and on Privet Drive, people don't come over unannounced.

Grumbling, she got up and went to the door. Then she opened it, only to come face to face with Gellert Grindelwald.

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Gellert smiled, and walked past the bony horse-like woman before him, completely intent on retrieving the Potter's second son.

"You can't just-" Petunia was silenced by a simple hand wave by the Dark Lord.

"I can, and I will." He drawled, "You have something, or rather someone who I want. And I will have him, make no mistake." Another wave released the silencing spell on Petunia.

"But Dumbledore said that he's watching" Petunia said nervously

"No, he isn't. There isn't actually another adult magical presence besides myself for over 7 kilometers." Gellert chuckled. "Who else knows he is here?"

"Only my husband".

"Excellent. You will host me until he returns from work. Then, after dinner, I will take both of your memories of young Harry." He suddenly looks hard into her eyes, "This is not up for debate. You will also make pot roast for dinner. I feel a craving for it." He places a 100£ note on the table, "The finest ingredients, of course," and walks into the sitting room to get Harry.

He scoops Harry up in his arms, and sits slowly into Vernon's favorite armchair. Gellert lets out an involuntary groan at the sudden comfort. Curious emerald eyes blink, and Harry asks, "Who you?"

Gellert gives a half smile, "I'm your uncle, big guy".

The next hour passes in relative peace, with Petunia completing chores, and Dudley in his crib for nap time. Gellert and Harry play little games to keep the toddler entertained. It would have been a sight to see for Albus, the most powerful Dark Lord to have ever lived, playing patty-cake with a toddler.

Once Mrs. Dursley left the house with Dudley to buy ingredients for dinner, Gellert sang Harry to sleep with a lullaby that he remembered from his youth, and once he was sure the child was asleep, cast a perimeter ward and drifted off to sleep himself.

He and his young charge awoke to the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, and a couple minutes later, Mrs. Dursley came into the house with her child on her hip and a bag of groceries in hand. She put Dudley into a jumper in the kitchen while she worked on dinner.

Meanwhile, Gellert held Harry and cooed, "Do you want to see some magic, little one?" He was met by an enthusiastic yes.

So, with the young boy on his lap, he wiggled his fingers, and some blocks from upstairs floated down to the sitting room. "Now you try something, Hadrian," Gellert urged gently.

"Okay," he said, and his face scrunched up as though concentrating very hard. For about 30 seconds, it looked as though nothing would happen, but then, the blocks went airborne, and arranged themselves in a tower. It was only one block wide, and wobbling precariously, but it was wondrous in Gellert's mind that a child so young could exert such control over his own magic.

"Marvelous job! Now, would you like to see something else that can be done with blocks?"

"Uh huh!"

Gellert chuckled, and cast a transmutation spell on the blocks, turning them into two small wooden golems. Then he made one start walking around, using a simple animation charm, linked directly to his will. "Now, Hadrian, the other one is for you to make move."

Once again, his face scrunched up, and once again magic happened. The golem started walking around, first sluggishly, then more smoothly as time went on. Gellert continued to encourage Harry (Now called Hadrian) to exert his magic.

Around 6:15, Vernon comes home from work, and immediately perks up at the smell of pot roast. He praises the smell of the meal, and Petunia smiles nervously, "Why don't you change out of your suit, dear. It should be ready by the time you come back down".

The large man grunts his affirmation, and plants a kiss on his son's forehead before waddling up the stairs.

Twenty-three minutes later, Vernon comes thundering down the stairs, dressed in sweatpants from his days wrestling at uni and a band t-shirt from that same period of time. He sits at the table, and notices something odd, "Pet, why is there an extra place setting?"

It was at this moment that Gellert glided into the kitchen, Hadrian in hand, asleep from the exertion of the last few hours. "That would be for me. I will be eating, taking young Hadrian here, and then erasing your memories of both of us entirely".

Vernon sputtered, and began to redden, "What makes you think that you can come into my house?!-"

He was silenced by a dismissive wave, "Because I am powerful and you are not. Be thankful that you had no ill intent toward my new charge, or we would be having a very different day right now," he paused for a moment, "Now let's enjoy this lovely meal, and then I'll be off".

And they did enjoy it.

After dinner, Gellert wiped at the corners of his mouth with a napkin, then Hadrian's mouth. "It really was lovely, but now it is time to go". He walked to the door, and then, with a whispered _obliviate_ , they were off to his castle that he had obtained in Norway.

/

Once he was in the castle, he immediately conjured a crib in the master bedroom, and place Hadrian inside of it. He cast a deep-sleep charm on the infant, and left to find a wet-nurse for Hadrian.

There are properties of nursing from magical mothers that foster strength in the child's magical immune system, and promotes a robust magical circulatory system. So a magical wet-nurse was the last thing that Gellert needed to get for Hadrian to develop properly. Fortunately, he will only need this witch for a few months, then Hadrian would be able to take only solid foods.

He set out on his quest to find a mediwitch, and immediately went to the Daily Prophet Headquarter in Daigon Alley, disillusioned, of course. It was there that he ruffled through their archives to find the issue from the end of the second week of June in order to find the class listings. Every year, the Prophet publishes an article which lists all of the seventh year students, and the N.E.W.T. level certifications they've earned.

After just a couple minutes of browsing, Gellert has found four candidates for the job of Hadrian's wet-nurse, each of them a muggleborn student from either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff who had earned a certification in Charms, Potions, and Herbology, along with at least one other subject. Only the best would do for his heir, after all.

" _Point Me_ Donna Harris" His wand pointed West, so he summoned an air elemental to carry him toward his target. The elemental travelled at nearly 160 kph, so in just under an hour and a half, he arrived in the small wizarding village on the eastern outskirts of Cardiff. The air elemental was dismissed, and Gellert walked along the mossy cobblestones up to a small cottage. His wand identified this house as the resident of Ms. Harris, who's additional N.E.W.T.s were in History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures.

He knocked on the door, and Donna answered. "And who are you?"

"My dear, I would think that with a certification in History of Magic, you would recognize me," Gellert chuckled.

"Grindelwald…" She whispered, "You're meant to be dead. How are you here"?

"I cannot tell you that. But will you invite me in? I have an offer for you".

She shakes her head, "I don't think that I can do that. It doesn't matter what the offer is".

"Very well," Gellert said. _Obliviate_.

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'It must have been the History of Magic certification. I don't think any muggleborn with that knowledge of who exactly I am will go for my offer…'

With that revelation in mind, he skipped to the third name on his list- Robin Bennet. Her extra N.E.W.T.s were in Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. If he had to guess, she was looking to join the auror corps. Unfortunately for her, due to the end of the Voldemort threat, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be taking some major budget cuts and the muggleborns would be the first to be sacked.

" _Point me_ Robin Bennet" The wand pointed North East, and Gellert re-summoned his air elemental and started toward the magical village near Hereford.

About 35 minutes later, he had arrived in Corview, a quaint, but rather large village. Large for a wizarding village, of course; it only had just under 250 people in it.

It was getting late, already, Hadrian had been left alone for over two hours. He needed to be quick in his acquisition of the girl.

He knocked on Robin's door, his location spell having done its job. He quickly cast an x-ray charm on himself, just to see how an auror in training would react to an unexpected visitor after dark. He was pleasantly surprised to see her, wand in hand, a healthy distance from the door, using _sonorous_ to answer, "Who's there?"

He smiled at the well-hidden nervousness in her voice, "It is a person who has information pertaining to your future in the auror corps".

This time, a bit agitated, "I asked, who **are** you?!"

It was taking nearly all of his willpower to not laugh outright at this little girl's bravado, "I am someone very important, who you will hopefully become well acquainted with in the future. I give you my word that I mean you no harm. Now, won't you invite me in for tea?"

As any good auror, even a trainee, would be, she was skeptical. "How will I guarantee that to be true?"

"I am willing to hand over my wand for the duration of my visit. I'll attach it with a sticking charm to your door and back up five paces".

"That is acceptable," she said. A couple seconds later, Robin opened the door, and gestured for Gellert to come in. She swished her wand, and the kettle flew to the sink to get some water to put on the stove, which was also lit silently. The whole process was done swiftly, and as they waited for the water to boil, the two just studied each other.

To his surprise, Ms. Bennet was not as common looking as he had expected of a muggleborn. Strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes that shone in the dull lighting of the one story cottage, and a pale complexion with lots of freckles. He suppressed a chuckle and her nightgown's Scooby-doo patterning.

An old man in what appeared to be fantastically expensive robes, sporting a beard that rivaled that of Albus Dumbledore was something unexpected, especially at this hour. His hair a wispy white, and his face imperious, unyielding and noble. Even at whatever advanced age this man was. Sharp blue eyes holding a world of experience. Promise and rage and knowledge and sorrow and-

The whistling of the teapot jolted her from her entrancement. She stuttered, I-I'll get that now." She got up, and the chair almost toppled from the force. She pulled out a couple of mugs and brought them to the table, along with milk and sugar, the kettle itself, spoons, and the teabags.

Gellert selected a strong black tea, reminiscent of what he drank in his childhood. He added sugar, then poured the water. A simple rotation of his finger set the spoon stirring.

Robin grinned sheepishly, only then remembering that she never had to get up in the first place. She herself selected an herbal chamomile. She'd add milk after it steeped. "So what's the news?"

"Unfortunately, you're to be laid off. I won't beat around the bush. My source is, of course, completely reliable."

Robin was quite glad her tea was still steeping, if she had been drinking it, it would be all over her guest, "What?! I'm among the top trainees? Why would then cut me? Why not Doge or MacMillan?"

Gellert's lip upturned slightly, "That, my dear is pureblood politics. Doge's great-uncle is a close friend of Dumbledore's, and you wouldn't want to make him upset. MacMillan, on the other hand, his uncle is the good friends with the lieutenant deputy. Can't fire him either. You're on the chopping block-"

"Because I'm muggleborn," Bennet growled. "So why are you telling me this? What do you have to gain from warning someone like me of her fate?"

Gellert took a moment to pause, sipping his tea. He looked her directly in the eyes, "Someone like you? 6 N.E.W.T qualifications. Graduated third in her class, Ravenclaw prefect, but not Head Girl. Was considered for an apprenticeship with Fillius Flitwick, but declined in favor of joining the war effort as an auror, quite admir-"

Robin closed her eyes and grit her teeth, "You say you mean me no harm, but you invade my mind? I have half a mind to throw you-"

She stopped speaking at the dark chuckle from the old- dangerous, her mind supplied- man. "So you did notice. And such spunk. I definitely like you." She shuddered at the predatory tone. "I would like to offer you a job."

Disbelief showed itself clearly on her face, but then her features schooled themselves, "Why me? I'm sure you could find some pureblood-" she spat that word- "to do whatever you'd have me do."

More chuckling. It was really starting to make her mad. "Because I care not for your blood. Only your skill and raw power. Your skill is obviously great, and your raw power far above the average witch. You are one of the four candidates who I am even considering for the position. You should feel honored."

"Why am I a candidate though?" Robin had never felt like this in a conversation outside of the one time she stayed after a lesson her old Headmaster had taught to ask some questions. (Professor McGonagall had to deal with an emergency with her grand-neice)

"That is simple. You are a woman, freshly graduated from Hogwarts, who has N.E.W.T. level certification in Charms, Herbology, and Potions, as well as at least one other field of magic".

She was suddenly suspicious again, "Why is it important that I am a woman?"

"Men cannot lactate. I have, today, fallen into being a toddler's caretaker, and he requires nine more months of nursing at a minimum. I will have a wet-nurse, because there are well documented benefits to breastfeeding, especially with magical children from magical women".

Robin couldn't help but to laugh at the absurdity, "And why are my qualifications important? You're just using me as a pair of tits after all!"

More chuckling… "Not quite. You see, he is in an extremely formative stage right now, and he could get attached. Then I would hire you to be a nanny for him as he grows up, and I cannot have an incompetent as a nanny." Gellert shakes his head, eyes shining with mirth.

Robin readjusts herself in her chair, "Let's say I did accept your offer, how is the pay?"

"It would be 1,500 galleons per month, and room and board would be provided, by house elves. I also possess in the residence a library of nearly 100,000 unique tombs, most of which you would have access to. And should you end up staying as a nanny, while my charge is busy and I am not, I will teach you some magic. I'm sure that that is more than sufficient."

Robin's eyes widened, "No way it can be this good, there has to be some kind of catch."

"Clever girl. The catch is twofold. Should you decide to leave my service at any time, your memory of the entire time will be erased." And just like that, Robin was firing spells at Gellert, who was drinking tea with one hand and batting away spells with the other. "Your efforts are futile. It took Albus Dumbledore in his prime to defeat me, and I am still in mine. Even Voldemort would be but a child in front of me as I am."

The casting abated, and Robin snarled from across the room, which was now in a state of minor disarray, "Then why did you not help in the war? Are we so beneath you that-"

"Ha! Besides that, I am meant to be dead. The second catch is my very identity- I am Gellert Grindelwald, the most powerful dark lord of all time!"

A wand clattered on the ground as Robin weighed her options, and in the end, she decided that a world in which she was second class wasn't worth the trouble of being loyal to, and she may as well advance her own position as much as possible. "When do I start?"

"Now. Lock up your house. I will apparate us to my residence now, and Tippy will take care of getting your possessions." Just two minutes later, Gellert stepped outside with Robin on his arm. With a crack, he apparated them both to the castle.

 **AN: So I hoped you guys liked it. The recruitment of Robin Bennet (an OC) took a lot longer than I was expecting, but I'm satisfied with the results. Leave reviews, they make everything go faster!**

 **-ThatGreyArea**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. I'll let you know that I am a college student, so I'm just finding whatever time I can to write. Honestly, I should have been studying for my Chem exam instead of writing this, but hey.**

Chapter 2: A Grand Deception

-Hogwarts, October 31, 1981-

Albus Dumbledore reclined in his chair, a lemon drop being pushed from cheek to cheek as he contemplated the morality of his plan for the Potter family. He knew it was, as an individual act, atrocious. It was a shame such a good family would have to be sacrificed for the Greater Good.

It was when he was about to doze off, having long finished the lemon drop, that he felt the magic of the fidelius crumble. Fortunately, the magic monitoring the health of the infants was stable. He needed to move swiftly if he was going to make his plan work.

The leftmost drawer of his desk was opened, and a pre-penned letter to Petunia Dursley was fished from it. The letter detailed the deaths of Lily Potter and her family, except for Harry. Then, he had Fawkes, his phoenix, transport him to Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow.

He worked quickly, drawing a circle and transmuting some of the debris into a flesh replica of Harry, then stealing away the baby. He completely ignored the other baby. He would have time to analyze the curse scar Mihile bore later. On his way out the door, he paid a glance toward Dorea Potter, and blessed the woman for her quick thinking and noble sacrifice which enabled the defeat of Voldemort.

Dumbledore summoned Fawkes to him again to transport him and the baby. He decided against apparation because it is unsafe to apparate with an undeveloped magical circulatory system. Phoenix Fire, however, worked on a completely different principle, and was therefore completely safe, even for a toddler.

From there, he left Harry in a basket on Petunia's doorstep. Of course, he set up a mild stasis spell, designed to keep Harry frozen in time until someone picked him up. The spell was derived from the spell used by first responders, in order to make sure a patient didn't die on their way to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Albus's modified version was, unlike the original, safe for children under the age of 5 for as long as they were under the spell for less than 24 hours.

Unable to apparate back to Hogwarts, as the wards prevented even the Headmaster from apparating in Hogwarts, he first apparated to Hogsmeade, then called Fawkes to flash him to his office.

Realizing that he was sweating, he called for an elf with a tall glass of iced water, and a small towel. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth, and began pushing it from cheek to cheek. He took this time to center himself before the inevitable Floo call from James or Lily Potter.

****** Peter Pettigrew's Halloween Party *****

The clock had struck midnight, and the party was just winding down. The punch bowl was nearly empty, the music played out of Peter's gramophone (it had been a birthday gift from his estranged father years ago) was quieter. Already, a few of the parents of the group had left- Diggory, Weasley, and Tonks most notably.

Slowly, other invitees left. Moody and Hagrid and Diggle went to the Hog's Head for another drink. The rest started trickling out

Sirius had just convinced an old crush of his- Marlene McKinnon- to go for muggle coffee with him. "It's surprisingly good, their espresso," he said.

When those two flooed away, Peter took a shaking hand out of his pocket, with it a pocket watch. Looking at the time, he wobbled over to the gramophone, and shut it off. With only a bit of minor grumbling, everyone else soon left.

Peter was glad that this party he threw would be his last memory of his friends. They were all so happy. He would cherish their joy with him on this night until the day he died, he thought, as he began to prepare for his departure from this life forever.

Already, he had his essentials packed, but his first course of action was to cast _borbarda_ on his fireplace destroying the Floo connection, giving him a bit more time. He shrunk his school trunk, (he never did get around to upgrading) and grabbed his broomstick (an original Nimbus that he had gotten after the upgrade had come out and the price fell).

He applied a _disillusionment_ charm, and mounted his broom. He pushed off the ground, and headed to Continental Europe, though his exact destination was unknown, even to him.

*****Potter Cottage*****

Lily came through the Floo first and collapsed to her knees as she surveyed the damage to her home. "No…. No.. It can't be" she murmered to herself, tears welling up in emerald eyes. She closed her eyes, and tried to convince herself that she was dreaming. Maybe had a bit too much to drink at Peter's and was passed out. All the while, tears stained her face.

A shaky hand on her shoulder snapped her from her ideations, and an equally shaky voice got her to her feet, "C'mon Lils, we have to check and see if anyone is still alive."

"But.. Vol- He was here!" She sobs into her husband's shoulder, "There's just no way," she whispered, her voice trailing off at the end.

James made an ugly noise, half chuckle and half sob, "We left my mother in charge, she could have pulled something off." He rubbed his wife's back, and spoke softly, "We can't not check."

The young couple climbed the stairs, and opened the door to the nursery. Immediately, the wailing of Mihile had them spilling tears of joy, for at least he was alive. Lily ran to the crib and snatched him into her arms, cooing to him that everything would be fine. She knew in her heart that it wasn't true when she saw Harry. She had thought that he was asleep, but upon closer investigation, the was no rise and fall of his chest.

Her baby boy was dead.

Meanwhile, James had been closing his mother's eyes, and trying to hold back tears. He had to stay strong for his Lily right now. He had to. Lily's cry of anguish shook him from his personal grief, though only for a moment.

Just a couple moments later, anyone in a mile radius could hear a shout full of rage and pain and betrayal.

"PETTIGREW!"

-2 Hours Later-

A pair of men in muggle suits knocked on the door to Potter cottage.

Lily answered the door.

"We're here with Shalfey Funeral Care. My condolences to you, ma'am.

The men have James sign a couple pieces of paper, then they hand him a card for the Funeral home.

Dorea and Harry have been transported to the specialized flying carpets to get them back to the funeral home.

The couple stood in the doorway, with Lily cradling Mihile, and watched as two of their most important people were carted away.

Tears fell heavily.

*****Castle Sturmhalt*****

It had been a week since Robin accepted what was surely, for a muggleborn witch, the opportunity of a lifetime. Since then, she had written letters to her friends so that they wouldn't worry about her disappearance. Of course, Gellert had read the letters to make sure that they did not give away any important details. They had written a letter back, collectively, and Gellert was still making his decision on whether they would be allowed to visit.

She had all her possessions moved into the castle by Gellert's house elf, Hilla. The castle itself was incredible! The foyer alone was larger than her entire house and everything was pristine.

She hadn't gotten to do much exploring though, because she was with Hadrian for much of the time, and when she was not, she just wanted to sleep. Who knew looking after a toddler could be so exhausting?

Right now, though, she was nursing him. She remembered being embarrassed about having to bare her breasts to her employer. She was perhaps more embarrassed by what he said when he noticed her blush- "My dear, I am over five times your age and gay, there is no need to be bashful". Because of a complicated spell that Gellert, as she was told to address him, had cast, she would lactate for a month before the spell needed to be renewed. It still felt odd to be on such familiar terms with a wizard in the league of Dumbledore.

Despite everything that she knew about Dark Lords, the one she worked for was downright pleasant. His house elf was treated well, and he never raised his voice or threatened anyone. He took a lot of time 'playing' with Hadrian too.

What they were doing _looked_ like playing. It was playing for Hadrian. But for Gellert, it was training his protégée. The first time she had seen the 99-year-old Dark Lord sit on the floor, Hadrian on his lap, and instruct him to do feats of magic, she had been skeptical- Hadrian was not even 2 years old- but every time, Hadrian had done as Gellert asked, be it summoning, animation, banishing, transfiguration, a charm, or even a conjuration.

It was quite disconcerting to her, watching a toddler wield magic with such ease, as though it were merely another body part. Now, just a week in, she was bemused that she'd ever thought that Gellert was being unrealistic about asking real, controlled magic out of Hadrian.

Now, after only a bit of coaxing from Gellert- "It's good for the lad, to get in as much practice as possible. You can ask him to do magic if you want as well"- she was doing it too. She wanted her wand, but didn't want to get up? Ask Hadrian. Forgot her book on the counter before going to nurse? Ask Hadrian. Needed a bottle opener or a toothpick or a bookmark? Ask Hadrian.

By the second week, she had nearly sunk into a state of depression, fearing that the purebloods had been right all along if Hadrian was just an example of the average pureblood child. Gellet chucked at that, Hadrian was not only a half-blood, but far more powerful than any child than he had ever seen.

That didn't stop Robin from feeling bad that she needed a wand to do anything at all. Gellert had told her that even he didn't figure out the secrets to wandless magic until he was in his 40s. He explained further that magical babies had an easier time learning because they weren't inhibited by prior belief. A good deal of being able to cast wandlessly is belief that you can, the rest being intent and power. Babies had no issue with belief, for if their support structures encouraged them to believe, they could believe. Hadrian was exceptionally powerful for a toddler, and simple requests and desires easily shaped intent.

Aside from the fact that she was nursing, life was idyllic for Robin Bennett.

*****Godric's Hollow Cemetery: November 3rd, 1981*****

The Potter Family had two funerals at once that day, on their family plot. One for Dorea Potter née Black. One for Hadrian (Harry) James Potter. After the funerals, everyone went back to Potter Cottage for food and warmth.

It was a day of tears and comfort, however fruitless that comfort may be. All their friends were there, though not much family. There weren't any surviving members of house Black, aside from Sirius and Andromeda, who could be trusted to be at the funerals. And no surviving members of house Potter at all.

The comfort of their friends was no small solace to the grieving couple. Minerva had even offered to take care of Mihile for a couple days to allow them to mourn properly without a toddler demanding their attention. Lily decline though, taking into consideration the trauma Mihile experienced.

Sirius, though, was in a right state, alternating between practically foaming at the mouth with rage and desire to catch Peter and sobbing about how he should have known Peter was a traitor. It was left to Marlene to keep him on a leash and make sure he pulled through. It was good for her, as she was prone to depression, and if left without a task in a time like this, she'd surely fall into one.

Hagrid's beard was damp with tears, the gentle giant just couldn't stop crying about Harry's death. And he was like a foghorn with blowing his nose. He had to keep a bin handy for all the tissues he was going through.

Remus was coping by trying his best to help others with their grief. He was wise enough to see that if he tried dealing with his own sadness right now, he'd simply drown in it. That's why he was currently hugging Emmeline Vance, comforting her.

The Weasleys and the Tonkses were simply beside themselves, though they had both left earlier, having kids.

Albus Dumbledore had shed a few tears, said a few words, and made an excuse to leave. Something about the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW).

Soon enough, everyone had said their goodbyes, and it was just the Potters, Sirius, Remus, and Marlene sitting around the living room of the repaired Potter cottage. Mihile was asleep upstairs, with monitoring charms cast in case he woke up.

"We have to go after him!" Sirius shouted, the silence getting to be too much for him. He was wildly gesturing now, "There has to be **something** that he left behind as evidence of where he was going!"

"C'mon mate, they have aurors on that. The best, even. Moody, Bones, and Scrimgeour. If anyone has a chance at finding the damn rat, it's that team. You need to just focus on something else," James said.

"I know, I just-" Sirius fell bonelessly into an armchair, "don't know, what's there to do now that Moldy Shorts is toasted, at least that's what Dumbledore says."

Everyone looked thoughtful at that- the war had been going since before they were even in Hogwarts. James's desire to be an auror had stemmed directly from wanting to combat Voldemort. The same went for Sirius. Lily had wanted to do something with potions, maybe charms. But she hadn't put much thought into it. Remus was hampered by werewolf regulations, so he'd have to do some careful analysis. Marlene was the only one with her life on track, as she was training to be a healer.

"Hey, Siri, didn't you go on the amateur dueling circuits the summer after 6th year? Why don't you go on a tour of the continent dueling?" Marlene's suggestion broke the silence, and was met, surprisingly, by smiles.

"Yeah, Pads, you were really good. Well, you still are good. Probably better now. But that's a great idea! Lils and I can even floo to where your matches are to watch," James chimed in.

"Not a bad idea!" Sirius jumped to his feet, a smile on his face. "If you guys all promise to come to my matches, I don't see why I wouldn't try it out."

The others all nodded and gave assurances that they'd show.

"And how about you, Prongs? What're you going to do now that the war is over?"

The bespectacled man put his face in his hands and groaned, "I'm the head of house Potter, I have to run the house's finances and go to Wizengamot meetings. Other than that, I'm going to just be a dad."

Sirius chuckled, "It's times like these I'm glad I've been blasted off the family tree."

"You really shouldn't joke about that, it's no laughing matter," Marlene scolded lightly.

This time Sirius roared with laughter, "Of course it is! My family's rotten. All the good ones are blasted off the tree. Doesn't matter anyway. My Uncle Marius left me loads of galleons."

Hearing this, Lily gave Marlene a look that said 'don't push it'. She didn't push it.

"I'll be being a full-time mom, and helping with the finances. What about you, Remus?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," Remus sighed, "The Ministry makes it really hard for someone like me to make a living, so I might go to the muggle world, getting my A-levels, and going to Uni."

Lily looked contemplative for a moment, "But you can't take out loans, you've got no credit in the muggle world. You could just go work for the Unspeakables."

"Really, the Unspeakables? I thought there were laws about that."

"Yeah, but that department doesn't give a flying fuck about them. There's literally no oversight, so they do whatever they want. And I've heard the say, talent is talent. You've got that in spades, Moony my boy!" Sirius said.

"That sounds about right," Marlene said, "I have an uncle who was an Unspeakable, and he worked with a vampire for a few years. So, you could definitely get a job there."

"Well, that seems like my best option for sure," Remus says with a chuckle.

The fire roared, and eventually, everyone fell into a comfortable silence. Remus was reading an alchemy text he had found in the Potters' library. Lily and James were snuggled up against each other, playing with the other's wedding ring. Sirius was lying in Marlene's lap, humming while she harmonized and played with his hair.

Then Mihile started crying and the charms detected it, so Lily had to get up.

*****The Leaky Cauldron: November 4th, 1981*****

Three fiends sat at a table in the back corner of the Leaky Cauldron. They were eating lunch while they caught up. They did this every week, but this week, something was different.

"So, what is this jean-etics? Sounds like some fascinating stuff," Clark asks, between bites of steak and kidney pie.

"Genetics," Isobel emphasizes the word, in the hope her idiot friend would learn to pronounce it properly, despite knowing that he would not learn, "is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living things."

"Iz, you're going to have to simplify it for us," then in a sarcastic tone, Catrin adds, "You know, we Half-bloods are completely ignorant of your muggling ways."

Isobel sighs, "Ok, so, Clark, you know how you have blonde hair, but your parents don't have blond hair, and neither do any of your siblings?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, your dad's grandpa has blonde hair, yeah?"

"Right."

"And so does your gran on yer mum's side?"

"Yeah."

"That's why you have blonde hair. Genetics is really much more complicated than that, but there's an example."

"Ok, well, Iz, why're you studying that?" Catrin asks.

"I want to see if it can be applied to magic. I think that the Unspeakables might have some work for me once I get my degree."

"I reckon you're right about that," Clark says, waving his fork. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper, "But you should probably not mention this to any purebloods, they probably won't take kindly to it. In fact, I had a case study the other day of a pureblood challenging a muggleborn to an honor duel for implying that his bloodline wasn't strong; I think that some of the craftier purebloods could use that as precedent to duel you and stop your research."

Catrin grimaces, "Yeesh, hadn't even thought about that. Good luck though."

"Thanks, I'll be careful of honor duels though," came Isobel's dry response.

A couple moments of silence pass, and Catrin puts down her spoon (She'd gotten soup, soup soup for lunch.) and says, "You'll never guess what master Mencher taught yesterday!"

Her friends chorused, "What did he teach?" Their tone was that of bored people, but every time Cat had done this, it was actually very interesting."

"He's teaching about the relation between how long a charm lasts and a whole bunch of other things. Like, even the inverse relation between intensity and duration as a function of magical power. Like, I could cast a _solem_ that's very bright, but doesn't last long at all. With the same amount of energy, I could cast one that's much dimmer, but lasts much longer."

"That… makes a lot of sense," Clark says. "I'd be willing to bet that it takes a lot of control to do either one of those as opposed to a normal one."

"Yeah, it apparently has something to do with the health of your magical circulatory system, the degree of control you have," Cat says.

"But, no one really knows anything about it. We know certain things are good for it and some things are bad for it, but that's about it." Isobel says as she puts down her fork and knife.

The roast hog had been quite good today.

Her friends finished their meals shortly after, and a serving witch came to take their dishes. They thanked the girl, and then they each reached into their pockets.

"Onto the reason we're here on Wednesday and not Saturday, I suppose," Cat says, then she takes a letter out of her pocket, and puts it on the table. Iz and Clark follow suit.

The three then line them up, and see that they're the same letter, save for who it is addressed to. In fact, Cat notices, they're the same **exact** letter. "It looks like someone used a _Gemino_ charm to duplicate this letter."

"Shouldn't two of them have disappeared by now?" Clark asks. "It's been over two whole days."

Cat pales at that revelation. "Yeah. They really ought to be gone by now. The average time for decomposition of parchment from a _Gemino_ charm is approximately 3 hours. And by my count, these have lasted at least 51 hours. And if you look at the quality of the duplicates, it's a perfect charm. We can tell just by that; we're dealing with a powerful wizard who kidnapped Robin!"

"I don't think so, Cat," Iz shakes her head. "I went by her place yesterday, cuz I have her spare key. I looked inside, and it looks like she took everything with her. I don't think that kidnappers do that."

"But that doesn't stop it from being quite shady what's happening- she said that she couldn't tell us where she is, or who her employer is, or even how long she'll be gone for. If I'm being honest here, I'm scared for her," Clark says.

"But what can we do? Even before she got auror training she could take us all on at the same time in a duel. What can we do against someone to make her this docile?" Iz asked, concerned.

"Well, isn't that what we're here to figure out? So, let's go over what we know," Clark said, trying to prevent panic.

"Robin has a new job, with a powerful mage- who we don't know the identity of. It's a live-in job, because all her stuff is gone from the house. We also have no idea where she is now," Cat summed up. "I hate to say it guys, but we might just have to send a letter back and hope that she can visit us or we can come to where she works."

The trio fell silent.

After about five minutes, Clark spoke, "Ok, I guess we should write together. Iz, you want to do the writing?"

"Sure, let's go back to my apartment, and we can pen it there." She responded

******Castle Sturmhalt*****

Gellert sat in a lovely leather chair in his office, contemplating the next moves in his plan. He had acquired an heir, who was also a Peverell by blood. This was good, since he planned for his heir to gather the deathly hallows. They would belong to Hadrian by blood and ambition.

He had also acquired a nurse and a caretaker for that heir. And that caretaker was a competent witch, and with training, she could even be powerful. She was already loyal to him, and once he started teaching her, that loyalty would become unbreakable.

He did want to keep Ms. Bennet happy though, and her friends would be a large part in that. The quandary was whether those friends would discourage her loyalty to him. Ideally, he thought, as he looked over the files for each of her friends, he would convert her friends to be loyal to him as well.

They would be useful, for sure. A charms mistress, a barrister, and someone on track to being an unspeakable. There is only one way for him to make it work.

It would seem as though his castle would be having visitors.

***** The Leaky Cauldron: November 15th, 1981*****

"Well, it's about time we got a response," Clark said, waving his letter. "I was actually starting to get worried that we'd never see her again."

Cat smacked the back of his head, "Don't joke about that! She could have really been in trouble."

"Y'know, I'm still a bit worried though, the way that we're meeting up with her is really odd," Clark said.

"It is really suspect. Meeting the employer before we get to see Robin, and she also said something about not fighting him about anything," Iz said. "I'm not sure that I like this."

"It's really not like we have much of a choice," Cat grumbled.

"So when are we going to go over? I want to see her for a couple days in a row, and I can't take off work," Clark said. "How about next weekend?"

Cat and Iz agreed, so they finished their food, and went back to Iz's apartment to pen the response.

*****The Ministry of Magic: November 15th 1981*****

"Mr. Lupin, why are you here?" The voice of Croaker, the face of the Unspeakables rang through the cavernous room. "You know that what we do here is top secret. It won't be of much use in hunting Pettigrew, I'll tell you right now."

Remus grimaced at the mention of the traitor. "Algie, I'm not here about that mess; I know the team of aurors on that one. I wouldn't be of much use to the likes of them." The werewolf adjusted his robes and fixed his posture. "I'm actually here for a job"

"A job?" Croaker asked, slightly taken aback. "And why would we give a werewolf a job? We both know it's illegal for dark creatures to be Ministry employed."

"And we also both know that you don't give two fucks about the law." Moony grinned wolfishly, "And I have precedent on my side. I know that the Department hired a vampire back in the 40s. I also know how little oversight you have."

Moony smirked when he saw Croaker sigh, "Even so, why would we bring you on board? I know you have impressive N.E.W.T. qualifications, but what do you bring to the table? We're looking for critical thinkers and problem solvers." He grinned, "We're not going to unravel the secrets to magic with a bunch of drones doing research."

Remus pulled a roll of parchment from his robes, "I have a research proposal for you." He waved his wand, and it floated over to Croaker as he continued, "Treating lycanthropy through soul magic. And I have some other ideas for treating it; some of them are even nonmagical."

Croaker unfurled the parchment, and took a cursory look at the proposal. After a couple minutes of tense silence, he spoke. "Alright, this is good. Well written. You'll start a trial period tomorrow. Be here by 9:00am, and I'll show you around. For now, go share the news with you friends."

"Thank you," Remus said, and left the Department with a spring in his step, despite being strung out from his transformation the previous days.

He immediately flooed to Potter Cottage, "Guys! I got the job!"

James had been sitting at the kitchen table, poring over stacks and stacks of parchment when he heard his friend's news. "That's great!" He waved his wand and the papers turned into a buck and trotted off to the study. "We're going out to dinner tonight! I'll call Marlene and Padfoot. Lils! Moony got the job!"

"He got it?"

"Yeah!"

Lily came down the stairs, cradling Mihile. She passed him to James, and gave Remus a hug. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered.

Moony looked sheepish, "Well, it's only because you helped me with the proposal."

"Nonsense, all the ideas were yours, I just helped you make them look pretty."

James cradled his son, and laughed, "If we're done jerking each other off now, we can pick a restaurant."

He got cuffed in the head for that. "You quit that language around Mihile, I won't have you doing that when he starts copying you," Lily scolded.

Eventually, they stopped bickering and went out for dinner.

*****Castle Sturmhalt: November 16, 1981*****

"Gellet! My friends have agreed to your conditions, and they want to come over on Friday," Robin walked briskly (she was carrying Hadrian) into the dining room where they had their meals.

"Excellent news, my dear. I will have you retrieve them from one of their houses via floo on the day of."

"This place gets floo?"

"Well of course, did you expect anything else?"

At this point, Robin was upset, and about ready to curse her boss out. She could have been in contact with the outside this whole time!

"Mind your language around my heir. I'll not have him spouting vulgarity like a common thug."

It was at this moment that Robin resolved to have Hadrian swearing like a sailor by the time he left for Hogwarts.

 **So that's 2! I survived my Chem midterm. I'll update again within the month (Hopefully, I do have some big projects coming up). Please Review! The more reviews I get, the faster I go, lol. Let me know if you think I need a Beta reader, or if I'm doing just fine without one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, chapter 3. Y'know, every single time, it doesn't matter how many ideas I have, when I sit down in front of a blank document, everything just stops working. It sucks, so I'm writing this. Authors out there can relate (probably).**

 **This section of the note is written much later. I had a ton of work to do, but I'm taking a day off to do some writing. I saw Fantastic Beasts last night. It was excellent.**

 **To the person who said the technical quality of my story is high, thank you. I also put a lot of effort into making sure random bits aren't out of place, like when the full moon is and time period things.**

 **Also, if anyone is interested in getting their OCs included in this fic, pm me any we might be able to work something out. I'd like to include some OC purebloods, adults and children in the earlier stages, and other blood purities once Hogwarts starts in this story.**

Chapter 3: Coincidences That Are Way Too Plot Driving to Be Natural.

*****Castle Sturmhalt: August 9th, 1982*****

"This is the end of your contract, Robin. What will you do now?" Gellert asked, but it was just as a formality. He knew what she was going to do. He had known since the second her friends had been allowed to visit. "Do, of course, remember the terms of the termination of your employment."

As usual, her boss was putting on a show for the sake of it. She rolled her eyes. "I think I'll stay on if that's all right with you. I've really grown attached to Hadrian."

Gellert chuckled, "Of course. And is has nothing to do with me teaching you magic when we find the time. Or Tippy's beef and lentil ragout."

Robin blushed at the mention of her favorite meal. "Well, those are just some good perks. Was there anything else you needed?"

"Yes, but nothing right now. Your old contract expired, so we must draft a new one soon. And by that, I mean, I will draft it, then you will have your lawyer friend look it over." He smiled, "Now, why don't you rescue Tippy from Hadrian's clutches."

She snapped off a sloppy salute and a grin, "Yes sir!" On her way out, she turned to face her boss, "At some point though, he will need a play mate of his own age. I recommend considering your options starting now."

Watching Robin race out of his study, Gellert leaned back and considered her words. It would do him well to reach out to some of the greyer families who would be sending children to Hogwarts in Hadrian's year. Zabini, Greengrass, Bones, Abbott. They would be the first he would reach out to when the time came. The first he would reach out to would be Greengrass. The lady was the daughter of one of his favorite followers, so she should recognize his sigil. He absently noted that Amelia Bones was the head of the DMLE. He would have to make some interesting plays to entice her and keep her from spilling secrets.

He sipped on his tea, and started drawing up a contract for Robin.

*****Helga Hufflepuff Center for Health: November 17th, 1982*****

"Congratulations Mrs. Potter, a healthy baby girl!" The healer exclaimed, happy for the 12 hours of labor to be over. Now he could finally take a break.

James beamed as he cut the cord, "Amaryllis Dorea Potter! Welcome to the world!"

The healer wrapped her in a blanket, and handed her to Lily. Lily's smile lit up the room, despite her hair being matted in sweat and her face still flush from exertion. Then the healer went to let in all the Potter family's guests.

As soon as possible, a large black dog came rushing through the door with a screaming two-year-old on its back, holding on for dear life. Following them came Remus, who was looking bemused at his friend's antics, and a very pregnant Marlene Black.

The dog abruptly transformed into a clothed Sirius Black, and Mihile ended up being held by the man. He giggled, "Uncle Siri! Do it again!"

He ruffled the young Potter's hair, "Not now buddy, you've got a new little sister and we're going to say hi, okay?"

Mihile nodded, "Uh huh"

Lily spoke softly to her son, "Say hello to your new sister, her name is Amaryllis. How about you call her Amy?"

The Boy-Who-Lived looked adorably introspective for a moment, his bright amber eyes glinting in the fluorescent-like glow of the rooms lighting. "Ok Mommy!" Then he looked to his sister, who was swaddled in a pink blanket, "Hi Amy, I'm Mihile, your big brother. Uncle Siri said I should look after you."

James cuffed his best mate on the shoulder and laughed, "Hey, that's my line!"

Everyone laughed, the hole in their hearts starting to ache just a little bit less with the birth of the baby girl.

Sirius nudged his wife, "You ready for your turn in a couple months?"

"I will be when I figure out that pain sharing curse. I'm not doing it alone."

Sirius laughed nervously, "How about I just be there with you, like James was for Lily? No need to do something like that."

"How about you just be on your best behavior?" Marlene smirked.

Her husband scratched the back of his neck, "Yes dear."

Remus made a motion as if to whip Sirius, "Wuh-PSSHH"

More laughter, from everyone but Sirius, who whined like a dog.

*****Department of Mysteries: July 2nd, 1985*****

Remus received a summons from Croaker. He never received summons from Croaker. He kept looking the unfolded paper airplane for clues as to what he could be summoned for as he made his way toward his boss's office.

It couldn't have been going over budget; he had a budget of 5,000 galleons per month, and he hadn't come close to that amount in almost two years. Could it be that he was losing his funding? Or getting a raise? And there was the door.

Inside the office, Isobel was fidgeting while she waited for Croaker to pass her off to one of his Unspeakables for her internship. She twirled her black curls around her finger and bounced her left leg up and down, nervously hoping that she wasn't being passed off to a blood supremacist who would try to fire her at every turn.

She was interrupted from her panic by three sharps raps on the door. "Enter!" Croaker raised his voice slightly so that the sound would pass through the thick door.

The door opened, and Remus came through, "You wanted to see me?"

"Remus Lupin?!" Isobel blushed heavily; this was the last place she had expected to see the guy she had crushed on for almost the entirety of third and fourth year. Of course, being 3 years older than her and generally caught up in things with his own year, he probably didn't even know she existed. Oh, no…

"He looked at her quizzically, "Quite. And you are?"

"Isobel Wallace. I was three years behind you in school. You helped me out with a few potions assignments in my third year."

Remus squinted a bit, "Oh! I remember you. Could never quite remember how Murtlap venom interacted with anything, could you?"

"Yes, well, I know it now of course. I-"

"If we are done reminiscing in my office," Croaker cut in, "Lupin, I'm assigning you Miss Wallace as an intern to help with your studies into lycanthropy. Once you two finish that, you'll be studying the genetics of magic. It came in a brilliant proposal from the young Miss Wallace, but we don't have the budget for a whole extra project. So, I'm pairing you two up for the foreseeable future, with you in charge. I'm giving you an extra thousand galleons per month for her salary."

Seeing that they both understood their marching orders, he dismissed them to go to work.

*****Greengrass Manor: July 24th, 1985*****

Lord Cygnus Greengrass sat at the head of the table, drinking a cup of Earl Grey as he read the Daily Prophet. He didn't know why he was reading that rag, but, he supposed, it would be odd to disrupt a ritual He started back in 6th year, when the prophet was actually printing worthwhile news.

A screech interrupted the morning tranquility, signaling the arrival of an owl he did not recognize. Odd, unfamiliar owls would normally trip the wards on the manor, and getting a house elf to check the owl for malignant magic, and alerting the him.

The owl also went to his Lady wife, Queenie and dropped a letter, before screeching again and flying off. How rude of it. He watched his wife for any indication of what was delivered.

He was not pleased to see her face go ashen at the mere sight of the envelope, not even having seen the contents of the letter. "Is everything all right, my dear?"

"No," she said, just loud enough for him to hear. "But I don't know to what extent we are in trouble without reading the letter."

"Well then, go on." He turned back to his paper, but couldn't focus on in. He was worried. He'd never seen his wife so spooked before, not even when complications had arisen in birthing Astoria.

"Well, it doesn't look so bad. All we need to do is to be ready at our floo by noon on the 31st. We need to bring the children as well as a gift suitable for a 5-year-old. I've received a promise that no matter what they won't come to harm."

"But, Queenie, who is this sender that you would cave to their demands so easily? I'm worried for us."

"Rightfully so. The sender is a man I thought long dead, a certain Gellert Grindelwald. But if there is one thing that he will not do it is lie outright."

Lord Cygnus Greengrass's paper went up in flames resulting from accidental magic, triggered by fear.

Similar scenes were played out in the households of Zabini, Abbott, and Bones.

Except in the Bones House, when Amelia tried to gather a task force for the next week, to re-apprehend Grindelwald, she couldn't even speak of what she read, and terror gripped her. She would be forced to comply with the demands of a stupidly powerful war criminal.

*****Castle Sturmhalt: August 1st, 1985*****

"Okay, Isobel, you need to do something about this!" Catrin shook her friend by the shoulders, "Your crush from literally seven years ago is back. And available. And way better then you thought he was when you originally had the crush!"

Clark freed Iz from Catrin's grasp so that she could take her turn bowling, "It's not that big of a deal. She's a big girl, she'll make a move if she feels it's right."

"Oh c'mon. Robin, back me up here, she should go for it! Like, really go for it! This isn't the kind of thing she can ignore."

Robin walked back from rolling a strike, "Hate to say it Iz, but I'm with Catrin on this one. You got to stake your claim."

"Well, I suppose it can't hurt to try…" Iz mumbled, her face alight.

Catrin and Robin high fived, "Got there!"

Clark returned from his turn and shook his head. "Speaking of going for it, how long is it going to be before you even try to see anyone Robin? It's not like you're meeting anyone stuck in this castle. I have a friend from work I could set you up with."

Robin shook her head, "I couldn't date anyone right now. I'm still too busy looking after Hadrian, so once he's doing more independently, I'll get out there."

Clark laughed, "Your loss. By the time that happens all the good ones will be gone."

Robin punched him in the arm, and winked at Iz, "Then I'll follow Iz's boyfriend's example and go cradle robbing."

Iz went nuclear with her blush, and everyone else laughed.

Later that day, in his study, Gellert reviewed his meeting with the heads of the families of Hadrian's new friends. He liked, ironically enough, Amelia Bones above all the others. She would challenge him, and he rather enjoyed that. Thankfully, he had managed to convince her that he was content with his role as a father and teacher to Hadrian. And to his surprise, he found it to be true. His main ambition right now is to see that Hadrian inherits his legacy of pushing the boundaries of magic and wielding great power.

He would also need to foster in Hadrian the capacity to lead, which is why he would continue to have the children of those four families over to play with his heir. Perhaps, if he could enlist the help of those families, he could expand Hadrian's social circle.

He would need to go to bed soon though, Hadrian ran him ragged today; it seemed like the boy would never run out of energy. Or maybe he was just getting old.

*****Department of Mysteries: August 2nd, 1985*****

Remus was walking toward the break room to find his missing assistant (they had a project to do, and he needed her to help with a trial) when he was yanked rather roughly into a supply closet.

His eyes bugged out when he was shoved up against the wall and kissed roughly by his assistant.

It took him all of one half of a second to make a decision.

He closed his eyes and kissed her back.

An hour later, they both lay panting on a conjured bed, not a stitch of clothing on either of them. "Well," Isobel chuckled, "I've wanted to do that to you since my fourth year."

The werewolf rolled to face her, "Is there anything else you've wanted to do for a very long time?" He winked.

She grinned, "I thought you'd never ask-"

The sound of the door clicking open interrupted her, and thinking quickly, Remus dove for his want and disillusioned them both and vanished the bed.

Once the intruder left, the two went back to doing that experiment they were supposed to be doing, somewhat awkwardly though. Having the mood killed like that was bound to make it a bit awkward for them both, neither being particularly open or outgoing.

When they were about to go home for the day, Isobel grabbed his tie and pulled him into another searing kiss. "Pick me up at 8:00 tonight. Don't be late."

Remus stood there in shock for a solid 30 seconds before he grinned a big stupid grin, and set off to tell Sirius.

*****Castle Sturmhalt: December 7th, 1985*****

Isobel's face lit up with embarrassment while Gellert laughed. "You want to invite your werewolf boy-toy to our Christmas dinner? As the first time meeting myself, Robin **and** Hadrian?" He stopped laughing and his eyes gained a dangerous glint, "You must be out of your fucking mind."

Isobel wasn't willing to give up. It would be the first Christmas night with her new boyfriend, but she wasn't willing to break the traditions that she had with her friends. "What if I can get him to sign the nondisclosure agreement before he meets anyone?"

Gellert ran his fingers through his beard, seemingly deep in thought, "That will suffice, but you must memory charm him of you even proposing the agreement if he fails to sign."

Isobel's brow furrowed as she thought through the risk and reward before she snapped off a sloppy salute, "Yes sir".

"Very well, it will be a standard binding agreement that can only be cancelled by myself, if he asks for the details of it." The former Dark Lord gives a genial smile, "And I expect that contract signed, in my hand in one week's time. And your RSVP with or without the contract."

"And you'll have it," she declared, with grim determination. Not being able to share almost half her life with her boyfriend was taking a serious mental toll on her.

*****Potter Cottage: Christmas Morning, 1985*****

Despite having Potter Manor available to them, Lily and James had decided to stay in the smaller house. They were only a family of 4, so staying in that enormous manor would be more of a chore than anything else. Perhaps when their children were grown, and had families of their own, they would all move into the Potter Ancestral Home. Besides, in their time in hiding, they'd grown to love the hominess and coziness the cottage provided. The warmth of the crackling fire spreading throughout the house was just reinforcing that idea.

It was only 8:00am, but she'd been woken up by her overly excited children about a half hour ago, so she was sitting on the couch, a mug of tea in hand as she snuggling her husband. He was playing with her brilliantly red hair as they both savored the excitement of their children as the 3 and 5-year-olds opened their presents.

James suddenly leaned down and kissed her forehead, "We did good this year."

Mihile shouted in excitement when he unwrapped a broom, "Dad! Can we go flying now? You said you'd teach me when I got a broom." His volume increased again, "And now I have a broom!"

James laughed, "Not yet buddy, I'll teach you after Christmas lunch with Uncle Sirius, Aunt Marlene, Volans, Uncle Remus, and his friend Isobel."

Amaryllis looked up from the color changing blocks she'd just been occupied with and yelled, "Volans! I love Volans!"

Lily chuckled with James over their daughter's exclamation. In all fairness, Sirius's kid was easy to love; with Sirius's excitability and Marlene's kindness, it was impossible to dislike the energetic 3-year-old.

It was Isobel, Remus's girlfriend, that had Lily wondering. Whenever that girl looked at Mihile, she looked so guilty. Lily had been picked up on this recently, and was too scared to know why. But Isobel way always nice to everyone, and had grown on everyone else in the group, despite their age gap. Lily, however, was suspicious of her. Between the guilty looks and the fact that she only ever talked in detail about two of her three best friends. Robin was a mystery, only spoken of briefly.

In fact, when Lily had asked James what he remembered of Robin from his brief time in the auror forces before the end of the war. He hadn't known her personally, but he knew that she was an accomplished duelist and an excellent detective. He also saw that she was a relatively solemn figure in the corps, but based on what Isobel has shared, Robin is energetic and outgoing. Then again, that could be a function of the war going on.

Lily just couldn't shake the feeling that Isobel was hiding something big, and that thing was somehow related to her family. But all evidence aside from her intuition just said that Isobel was just a nice girl that everyone likes. A nice girl who apparently makes a mean roast goose. Lily decided to leave it alone, just as she always did, and enjoy Christmas.

*****Isobel's Flat in Edinburgh: Christmas Morning, 1985*****

Isobel woke early on Christmas morning, knowing she had to cook the roast goose for lunch with the Potters and the Blacks. She grabbed her wand and cast _tempus._ 8:30. She would need a few hours to cook it, so she decided to get up.

She untangled herself from her boyfriend's sleepy grip, and rolled out of bed, though she was reluctant to leave the warmth the bed afforded in the middle of December. She put on sweatpants and a sports bra, then went to leave the room. She looked back to the bed when she heard him groan at the loss of heat and smiled, content. She spelled her toothbrush and toothpaste to come and start brushing her teeth on the way to the bathroom.

She walked out of the bathroom to the small kitchen, and flicked her wand, starting the morning coffee. Then she preheated the oven for the goose, then went to sit down in the living room. The telly was turned on, to a station playing top hits. She was testing out a prototype design for a runic array that allows magic and electricity to coexist in the same general area. All the results seem encouraging, but it would probably get stopped by the Wizengamot before they could release it to the public.

While 'Saving All My Love For You' played, she looked at her wand and thought about the whole concept of a wand. She knew the history of wands. The Romans had come up with the concept, and conquered the indigenous magical peoples due to their usage. Once the empire had been established, wands spread across the globe with them. But it was clear that they weren't necessary to the most powerful mages. Gellert didn't need one, and if he was to be believed, he hadn't needed one in years. Robin was starting to learn wandless magic. Hadrian didn't need one. He was already casting everyday spells like its nothing, wandlessly at 5 years old at that. While she was thinking of Hadrian, she knew that Grindelwald was hiding something about him. He just looked so _similar_ to Mihile, if she didn't know any better-

Her musings were interrupted by Remus putting a cup of coffee in her hands- 4 sugar no cream- and kissing her on the cheek, "Merry Christmas Iz". His smile was warm and loving.

"Merry Christmas Remus," she smiled back. "Are you ready for tonight?"

He gave out a long sigh, "I suppose so, I'm just a bit unsettled by the fact that your friend needs a nondisclosure agreement to visit."

"I know it's strange, but it's more about her employer being a paranoid bastard. And as you know, it's a live-in job."

Ding!

The timer had gone off, and now she had to go prepare the goose. And between bastings she'd fuck the nervous out of her boyfriend.

*****Headmasters Office, Hogwarts: Christmas Day, 1985*****

Now that he wasn't going to Nurmengard to visit Gellert, he didn't really have anything to do on Christmas besides eat with his students. His only family hated him, and the only friend he had that wasn't missing or dead had his own family to be with.

Albus peered over the lenses of his half-moon glasses at the pile of wrapped gifts that his phoenix, Fawkes, had deposited all over his desk, scattering the paperwork he had to complete for the board of governors. "Was that really necessary?"

Fawkes trilled something that translate roughly to 'no, but fuck you'. The bird was still rather cross with his master for faking the death of young Harry Potter. Fawkes was, after all, an immortal being, so 4 years was merely a blink for him.

Albus, of course, could only discern the basic intent of what Fawkes was telling him, and sighed. "It was for the greater good, my old friend. You know the prophecy; he could not be together with Mihile. Mihile can't be allowed to be slowed down by his brother, and there was no way for me to convince Lily and James to let Harry be taken away.

Fawkes trilled indignantly, almost as if to tell Albus that there was no excuse, then flashed away.

On a whim, since he hadn't the time to set wards on Privet Drive, and frankly hadn't bothered to check yet. The years he hadn't checked, in his opinion, were pretty irrelevant. No one does anything important until they're at least 5 years old.

He summoned from a shelf his scrying bowl, so that he didn't have to actually go to Privet Drive. Scrying is a form of divination that is actually learnable by anyone. Naturally, it's considered beyond N.E.W.T. level, so it isn't taught at Hogwarts. If Albus had his way, scrying would be taught at the N.E.W.T. level, but the Board of Governors wouldn't approve the increase in costs to buy scrying bowls for the class. Even Albus had to admit, the bowls were almost prohibitively expensive, the only thing that would be more so would be a pensieve.

A quick _aguamenti_ filled up the bowl, and a small amount of bloodletting to charge the spell, and then a quick incantation caused the surface of the bowl to swirl and gain a mirror-like sheen. This particular spell allows him to create a scrying screen that works like a pensive. By dunking his head in the bowl, he would be able to astral project to the location he was scrying for.

He dunked his head, and projected to Privet Drive, right inside the sitting room. Of course, to the residents of the house who were in the room celebrating Christmas, he wasn't visible.

Immediately, he noticed that Harry wasn't with the rest of the Dursleys. He floated around the first floor. Nothing. Floated around the second floor. Nothing, not even a single trace that there was a fourth person living there. No pictures of Harry, no bedroom that he would be living in. He checked every nook and cranny of the house. Nothing.

He exited the astral projection, and his head jerked back upright from the bowl. He closed his eyes and tried to think clearly, pushing past the rage he currently felt. He tried to think rationally about any clues as to where the Dursleys left put Harry. Nothing. Meanwhile, he was letting his aura run wild, which would have been a problem if any students were present.

When he managed to reign in his aura, he opened his eyes and surveyed the room. Cracked floor and ceiling, the desk also was chipped and fractured in many places. His scrying bowl in pieces. He would have to get a new one of those.

While he cast _reparo_ on everything else, the scrying bowl would have to be replaced as it was a highly magical object. Once the repairs were finished, Fawkes flashed back, holding a piece of parchment rolled up.

On it, it read, 'Old friend, the time has come for you to surrender your political positions. My heir shall be coming to your school in less than six years' time. You must once again become the titan of an educator that you had been earlier in your youth. You must reform the curriculum to something truly deserving of the title of 'the finest school of magic in the world'. If you do not comply, I will be forced to leak information you don't want leaked to the public.'

It was signed 'GG'

In his terror at the concept of Gellert having an heir, he didn't notice, once again, the subtle charms taking hold to prevent him from talking about Gellert to anyone else.

Albus collapsed like a ragdoll into his chair and buried his face in his hands.

*****Potter Cottage: Christmas Day*****

"Ooh that smells delicious!" Lily gushed over the goose when Remus and Isobel arrived, "Let me take that off your hands!"

"Please, make yourself at home, have some eggnog," James welcomed the two warmly, decked out in a Christmas jumper and some blue jeans. In fact, all the adults were dressed similarly. The kids were in pajamas, it was tradition.

Sirius was already outside in the yard with Mihile, supervising him as he flied that around the backyard. Marlene, however, was on the floor with Volans (Vol) and Amaryllis (Amy), reading to them. As usual, the Black couple were on the front lines of dealing with the kids at gatherings like these.

"Alright, Moony and Iz are here, it's time for lunch!" James shouted, loud enough that Sirius and Mihile would hear him all the way outside

The sound of thundering footsteps signaled the arrival to the table of the kids and their supervisors. Mihile and Vol went right to the table, but Amy ran right to Isobel to give her a hug. Isobel saw her coming, and knelt so that she could pick the girl up.

"Iz!" Amy exclaimed, as Isobel picked her up and gave her a hug.

"How's my favorite little girl doing?" Isobel practically cooed, enjoying Amy's giggles.

"I got markers and I got a wand and I got a stuffed dragon and I got CANDY!" The girl gushed. In the Potter household, they didn't do big gifts, but they did go on a lot of vacations. Sirius was pranking James by giving his daughter magic-resistant markers and candy in the hope that Amy would cause some trouble.

"Oh my, did you really think that I didn't get you anything?" Isobel asked, relishing the look of excitement on Amy's face. "But, I'll give it to you after lunch, okay?"

"Okay!" Amaryllis agreed, and ran to her seat once Isobel put her down.

The Christmas lunch that they ate was delicious. Isobel's goose, Lily's ham and vegetables, and Marlene's potatoes. For dessert, Marlene had brought lemon squares and chocolate rugalach.

The conversation was good too; everyone was drawn in by Sirius's tales from the dueling circuit. James tried talking about the Wizengamot sessions he had been going to, but had to stop when Mihile threw a bit of potatoes at him because he was bored and said Sirius told him to with legilimency.

Of course, Sirius couldn't prove that he didn't, so no one got in trouble.

Remus and Isobel had agreed on a few fake, but highly entertaining stories to tell. After all, they could say anything but what they were actually doing. The adults knew this, but the kids did not.

They moved into the cozy living room for exchanging gifts among the adults, and for the kids to get the presents that Remus and Isobel had brought.

Just like every year, Sirius gave out season passes to the Grand European Dueling Circuit that he would be competing on before anything else. Both other couples made most of the tournaments, on account of Remus being the department head for the lycanthropy treatment research department within the Department of Mysteries and the Potters not having real jobs.

Then Marlene gave out some healing salve that had the ability to do anything from healing bruises to completely healing decent sized cut, like if you cut yourself while using a kitchen knife.

The Potters had gotten everyone enchanted wristwatches- of Lily's own design. Runes were a hobby of hers, and she wanted to try her hand at enchanting. James had taken up a hobby of taking apart watches and teaching himself to be a watchmaker. They had both gotten really good in the past year, and to commemorate that, they collaborated on a set of six gorgeous watches.

A dragonhide strap held the palladium base with tasteful gold filigree in place. The face was done in clear glass, with etched and dyed numbers in black. They run smoothly, ticking precisely once per second, and are all synchronized to each other. The watch itself is nearly indestructible, able to withstand a blasting curse. Other features include being able to set alarms, give reminders, and do text messaging on the watch face with each other.

As James walked to deliver the presents, Lily explained all of this. Both enjoyed the awe and excitement on their friends faces.

Remus and Isobel were last, but before they game their presents to the adults, the gave out presents to the kids. All the adults watched on in horror as their kids were given toy instruments and they ran away to go play with them. "You monsters," Sirius whispered, "How will we ever sleep?"

Remus shrugged, "Not my problem. That's for you-know-what."

"That turned out fantastic for you!" James protested.

"I don't care; suffer, assholes." Remus said dismissively, before handing over a piece of paper to Lily and Marlene "Anyways, here's Wonderwall; it's what the Department is calling the experimental array that lets technology and magic coexist. I got clearance from the department to increase the sample size."

"It's worked like a dream for us so far," Isobel chimed in.

"Wow, this is… Wow" Lily said as she examined the array in detail. "I can't even figure out how this works. It's on a whole different level from where I am right now.

For the next couple of hours, until Remus and Isobel had to go back home to get ready for the gathering with Isobel's friend group.

*****Castle Sturmhalt, Christmas Night, 1985-*****

"Ah, Mister Lupin, Miss Wallace, welcome to the castle, and Good Yule to you both," Gellert greeted the pair cordially.

"Heya Mr. Grindelwald, how's Yule this year?"

"Quite well, Hadrian lit the faerie lights on the tree this year. It's quite a bit more impressive this year. You'll love it!" Gellerts face lit up with pride as he talked about Hadrian's accomplishments. Faerie lights are a much more complex piece of magic than they seem; they are actually semi-sentient, which made the spell a form of animated conjuring, so accomplishing the casting at 5 was quite a feat.

"Um, Iz? Why is there a Dark Lord at the Chris- ah, Yule celebration?"

"Oh, um, it's his castle?"

"Dark Lord."

"Eh, he's a bit softy."

"Standing right here you know"

"Gellert, can we have a moment?"

"Of course, Follow the faerie light when you are finished. There is a spare bedroom out the door and three to the left." The Dark Lord conjured a faerie light wandlessly, and disappeared down the corridor to the right.

Remus watched him walk away, and turned to his girlfriend, "What the fuck Isobel? Your friend works for a war criminal!"

"Well, yeah. He needed a wet nurse for Hadrian, so he found her, by whatever arbitrary standard he was using. She was convinced for some reason. She'll share eventually…"

He rubbed his temples, "Just… I guess I'll give it a shot. You've known him for how long now? And who is Hadrian, I was too scared to ask him?"

"Four years. Long enough to forget just how badly I flipped out when I first learned." She smiled, "Oh, you'll love Hadrian; he's a real academic, even at five. He's Gellert's heir, though they're not actually related. You really just have to meet him."

"What are we waiting for?"

The couple followed the faerie light down the corridor, up a flight of steps and down another corridor, to a cozy living area with a wood burning fireplace and a high ceiling. The tree was done up magnificently with ornaments, and there were faerie lights everywhere, physically interacting with the tree.

And there, sitting under the tree, giggling under the Yuletide tree, giggling as a gang of faerie lights collaborated to bring him an ornament was a miniature James Potter, though without glasses.

Robin called out to him, telling Hadrian to say hi to Isobel and her friend Remus, and the boy crawled out from under the tree, and walked over to the couple.

It was only then that Remus saw Lily Potter's eyes looking right at him. Under his breath, "Harry…"

 **AN: AND CUT. Holy shit was this chapter a bitch to write. I'm sorry I took so long to upload. And the wonderwall joke is even funnier because it was 10 years early. Fuck Yeah. Rate, Review, you know the drill. I'll do this Carnivorous Muffin style, for every 100 reviews, I'll write a side fic that was suggested to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I must apologize, this is a discontinuation notice. I have not been well, and have not been working on the story. I had about ½ of chapter 4 done before I stopped writing, but after reviewing it today, I decided it was time for me to scrap the entire story. If anyone desires to adopt it- you are welcome to it.**

 **Fear not- I will be starting on a new story instead. This time, A Magic: The Gathering and Game of Thrones crossover.**


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